I wish my car had an electric engine

Giulio Molfese, 42, is a professional fashion photographer. He talked to Esther Oluka about his Mitsubishi Challenger.

What type of car do you drive?
I drive an automatic Mitsubishi Challenger.

When did you buy it and at what price?
I bought it in 2011 from a friend at a fair price which I would prefer not to disclose.

Do you ever give your car to other people to drive?
Yes, I do sometimes lend it out to a few friends and the good thing about them is that they return it in one piece.

What was the last traffic offence you committed?
I continued driving when the traffic light flashed yellow. I had to pay a fine of Shs45,000 over the offence.

What is that one thing that tends to irritate you the most about Kampala?
The traffic! I hate it with all my heart. If it is really too much, I park the car somewhere and take a boda boda.
Sometimes what I do is to drive during certain times of the day in order to avoid it.

What are you most vigilant about while driving?
I am always vigilant about other road users since cars tend to be potential weapons capable of hurting other people. I am always on the lookout and very careful because anything can happen at any time.
A child, for instance, may just decide to cross and it is you, the driver to watch out and be mindful of them.

How often do you take the car for servicing?
Well, it depends on the mileage I have covered after driving. If I have covered a long distance, I ensure to take it for servicing.
How much money do you normally spend on fuel if you are just driving around town?
About Shs50,000 is enough to take me around even for two or three days.

The furthest destination in Uganda you have driven your car to is….
That would probably be either Kitgum or Kisoro.

What do you love most about your Mitsubishi Challenger?
It is spacious, with a big luggage compartment.

Is there anything you dislike about this particular car?
Well, I hate the fact that it uses fuel. Sometimes, I wish it had either a solar or electric engine.

Your dream car is…
I am the type of person who is not really into cars. But I think owning a Lamborghini or Ferrari someday would be a nice thing.

How did you learn how to drive?
Well, I taught myself using my grandfather’s car. It was a Beetle and a manual car. I remember driving it around his compound.
I think I was about 17 years at the time.

The red symbol on your car. What does it mean?
It is an artistic rendition of the eye of Ra, the Egyptian god, used by Bob Dylan, one of the biggest rock stars of our century, whom I have had the opportunity to previously work with.